Effects of encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and citral on the performance and cecal microbiota of broilers vaccinated or not vaccinated against coccidiosis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of encapsulated cinnamaldehyde (CIN) and citral (CIT) alone or in combination (CIN + CIT) on the growth performance and cecal microbiota of nonvaccinated broilers and broilers vaccinated against coccidiosis. Vaccinated (1,600) and nonvaccinated (1,600) 0-day-old male Cobb500 broilers were randomly allocated to 5 treatments: basal diet (control) and basal diet supplemented with bacitracin (BAC, 55 ppm), CIN (100 ppm), CIT (100 ppm), and CIN (100 ppm) + CIT (100 ppm). In general, body weight (BW) and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved in birds treated with BAC, CIN, CIT, and CIN + CIT (P < 0.05) but were all decreased in vaccinated birds compared with nonvaccinated birds (P < 0.05). Significant interactions (P < 0.05) between vaccination and treatments for average daily gain during the periods of starter (day 0-9) and BW on day 10 were noted. Broilers receiving vaccines (P < 0.01) or feed supplemented with BAC, CIN, CIT, or CIN + CIT (P < 0.01) showed reductions in mortality rate from day 0 to 28. The incidences of minor coccidiosis were higher (P < 0.05) in vaccinated birds than in nonvaccinated birds. Diet supplementation with BAC or tested encapsulated essential oils showed comparable effects on the coccidiosis incidences. Similar to BAC, CIN and its combination with CIT reduced both incidence and severity of necrotic enteritis (P < 0.05). No treatment effects were observed on the cecal microbiota at the phyla level. At the genus level, significant differences between vaccination and treatment groups were observed for 5 (Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium, Enterococcus, and Clostridium) of 40 detected genera (P < 0.05). The genus Lactobacillus was more abundant in broilers fed with CIT, while Clostridium and Enterococcus were less abundant in broilers fed with CIN, CIT, or CIN + CIT in both the vaccinated and nonvaccinated groups. Results from this study suggested that CIN alone or in combination with CIT in feed could improve chicken growth performance to the level comparable with BAC and alter cecal microbiota composition.

Keywords: broiler; cecal microbiota; coccidiosis; essential oil; growth performance.

Figure 1

Effects of vaccination and encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and citral in diets of broilers on oocysts counts in fecal samples at days 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, and 27 of age. Birds vaccinated (PV) and not vaccinated (PNV) against coccidiosis; Control, birds fed basal diet; BAC, birds fed basal diet with 55 ppm bacitracin; CIN, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde; CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated citral; CIN + CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and 100 ppm citral. Data were affected by vaccination (P < 0.05) but it was unaffected by BAC, CIN, CIT, and CIN + CIT.

Figure 2

Effects of bacitracin and encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and citral in diets of broilers on (A) severity and (B) prevalence of coccidiosis lesions due to E. acervuline, E. maxima, E. tenella; necrotic enteritis lesions on (C) severity and (D) prevalence due to C. perfringens in both vaccinated (PV) or nonvaccinated (PNV) chickens at 21–22 D of age. CTRL, birds fed basal diet; BAC, birds fed basal diet with 55 ppm bacitracin; CIN, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde; CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated citral; CIN + CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and 100 ppm citral. Data were not affected by the Vac × Trt (P > 0.10).

Figure 3

The 3D principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) graph shows the variation among distance matrixes (unweighted UniFrac) of cecal microbiota in (A) vaccinated or nonvaccinated status and (B) treatments with bacitracin, encapsulated cinnamaldhyde and citral, alone or in the combination. Percentages shown are percentages of variation explained by the PC1 (14.64%), PC2 (10.03%), and PC3 (8.79%). PV, birds were vaccinated against coccidiosis; PNV, birds were not vaccinated against coccidiosis; Control, birds fed basal diet; BAC, birds fed basal diet with 55 ppm bacitracin; CIN, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde; CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated citral; CIN + CIT, birds fed basal diet with 100 ppm encapsulated cinnamaldehyde and 100 ppm citral.